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Om Youngmisuk
multiple authors
Nichelle Alexander-Walker On Friday, he was named the Most Improved Player of the season, his second consecutive atlanta hawks Award winning player.
Alexander-Walker averaged a career-high 20.8 points, 3.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds and added 1.3 steals. He also averaged career highs in blocks, field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage.
The 6-foot-5 guard increased his scoring by 11.4 points after averaging 9.4 points off the bench. minnesota timberwolves During the 2024–25 season. This is the third highest increase from one season to another in the last 25 years.
“It really validates my feelings,” said the Hawks guard, who looked like he was holding back tears at times while speaking to reporters Friday. “Sometimes I think everyone has been through that situation where they feel something and other people can’t, and they can’t see it yet. And it’s like that moment that tells you not to feel crazy. And there have been times when this game has thrown me into confusion and just lost the belief I had… Honestly, it [hasn’t] Get set. I go through moments where I’m ready to burst into tears and then I’m just ready to scream and be happy.”
Alexander-Walker now has some hardware to add to her family, including a cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma CityMVP and Finals MVP.
“It’s good to make the family proud,” Alexander-Walker said. “When you’re Shai’s cousin, a lot of times you’re referred to as Shai’s cousin. And so now it feels great to be recognized as Nichelle Alexander-Walker. I talk to Shai all the time… [he’s] My brother and my twin, and I couldn’t be more proud of anyone’s success. So to know that he’s in my corner and supporting me like that… all of those things are really reflective.”
Alexander-Walker follows teammate dyson danielsWho won the award in the previous season. This is the first time in the history of the award that two straight winners have come from the same team.
In his seventh season, Alexander-Walker flourished with the Hawks. The guard told ESPN at the beginning of the season that he had several suitors in free agency, but he chose the Hawks after the former Atlanta point guard. trey young Recruited him.
When Young suffered a knee injury early in the season and was subsequently traded to Washington, Alexander-Walker helped the Hawks remain a playoff team. He scored in double figures in 76 games and made 251 3-pointers in 2025–26, a single-season franchise record and the fourth-most in the league this season.
“I think it was an opportunity that was given to me and I had the mentality to make the most of it,” Alexander-Walker said. “At different times in my career, when you get something like that, you’ve got to grab it by the horns and take it for a ride and wherever it goes, I was hanging on for dear life, still am and still will be.”
